


Teal Arabesque

by Nagisa_Hawkzuki



Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, I love these two a lot, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, baby sourin, best friend drama, but also a dance prodigy, dance au, not just from Rin lmao, quite a bit of crying, sousuke is a klutz
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2016-02-15
Packaged: 2018-05-20 21:00:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6024706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nagisa_Hawkzuki/pseuds/Nagisa_Hawkzuki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yamazaki Sousuke loves to dance but when his best friend moves to Australia everything, including dancing, comes crashing down at once.</p><p>Now, Rin's back and Sousuke is at Samezuka. Can Sousuke teach his (boy)friend to learn to love dance or how to dance at all?</p><p>(first chapters feature baby sousuke and rin so no actual sourin until later)<br/>(tags to be updated)<br/>(came from a ridiculous hc but I actually kinda like where it's going)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Teal Arabesque

**Author's Note:**

> This fic comes from a headcanon I have where Sousuke is like a pro dancer but Rin cannot dance. At all. So Sousuke tries to teach him with varying degrees of success.  
> This headcanon came from watching mmds like this one->https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVpRDJsWK6I (my favourite thing ever)
> 
> I appreciate it's a ridiculous premise but I actually really like what I've got in store for this fic and I hope you enjoy it too :3

The boy's breaths were ragged but he stood with his feet firmly in his finishing position. Breaths rippled through his body and caused the only movement in the otherwise still frame.

"Thank you, Yamazaki-kun."

Sousuke lowered his arms from above his head. He bowed quickly and for the first time took in where he was. The room he was in was empty with the exception of the table that the three judges sat behind. A mirror ran the length of the wall behind the three adults and Sousuke could see himself being dwarfed in the room. This was deeply unnerving to Sousuke as he was used to being the biggest of all his classmates- a trait that had come in useful over the years. His height gained him a better view of the surroundings than his shorter classmates and as a result he often acted as the look out during the various escapades that Rin had spearheaded. His height gave him an advantage and it made him feel secure but now, in this seemingly gargantuan room,he had never felt so small, especially now the music had stopped.

"That was very well done" said the smallest of the judges, a woman who despite her wrinkles seemed anything but old. Her eyes sparkled with life and she looked at him with such kindness that Sousuke no longer felt small. The man next to her nodded in agreement. He looked over his glasses at Sousuke.

 

"Did you choreograph that yourself, young man?" 

 

Sousuke nodded earnestly as the judges exchanged a look. The small woman smiled at Sousuke. 

 

"Well, that's very impressive. It was absolutely beautiful. Congratulations. "

Sousuke beamed.

 

"Thank you." He bowed again. 

"As you are the last competitor of the day, I think we can tell you our decision as it's unlikely to change." The bespectacled man said.

Sousuke's heart was pounding against his ribcage. Fighting, pummelling,out of control. Sousuke attempted to calm himself with one of the breathing techniques his mother had taught him as the small woman spoke again.

"That was a truly excellent performance," she said looking directly at Sousuke. "Truly excellent. And we" she gestured at those sitting either side of her, "Have decided that you are today's champion, congratulations!" She smiled at him and Sousuke was ten feet tall. The gargantuan room was now a doll house and couldn't contain his elation.He didn't think that anything would bring him back to earth.

"Please collect your medal, Yamazaki-kun" 

Sousuke looked up to see that the third judge, a teenage girl who had been silent, was holding a turquoise square box. He had to stop himself from sprinting to the judges' table to collect his prize.

As he took the little blue box in his hands, the girl broke her silence.  
"Well done, Yamazaki-kun. You should be very proud." Sousuke could only smile in response. 

The small woman was smiling at him again. "You truly are an excellent dancer, Yamazaki-kun," she said. And Sousuke didn't stop beaming from that point until he reached home. Though he suspected he couldn't have stopped even if he tried.

______________________________________

When Sousuke burst through the door, he shot upstairs without so much as a glance at his family who were gathered in the kitchen. Once in his room, Sousuke took the little blue box from the bottom of his sports bag. Checking that the door was shut before hand, he opened the box for the first time.

The light hit the medal and sparkled. Sousuke’s teal eyes widened. It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Twists of gold melded together to form a figure flung in a dramatic arabesque. The figure was frozen in this permanent state of beauty against navy tissue. A smile danced across Sousuke’s lips. Ever so gently he placed the lid onto the box and the box onto his shelf, right next to his only other trophy- 1st place in the 50m butterfly.

______________________________________

“Hey, Sousuke!” 

A blur of maroon was shooting towards him down the corridor.

“Yo, Rin.” 

He extended his fist to the redhead who bumped his own fist against it. Sousuke smiled as he looked down at the shorter boy. Rin was beaming up at him, eyes shut and mouth wide open. 

“How was your weekend?” he sang, but before Sousuke had a chance to respond Rin was whisking him through the streams of their classmates, babbling as he went. It didn’t bother Sousuke. He liked that his friend was so outgoing, it made to be a good contrast to his own more reserved persona.

They were different in their own ways and had different views but their hearts were ultimately the same. Sometimes they disagreed, but Sousuke supposed that anyone who spent as much time together as they did would disagree as well. Although, Sousuke would always remember the time, he was fearful that he and Rin may never make up. He didn’t mean it as an insult to Rin’s dad- why would he? Rin’s dad was one of Sousuke’s heroes as well. Every time Sousuke had visited the Matsuoka household his presence was evident through the way Rin’s mother’s eyes lit up when Sousuke asked to hear stories of Father Matsuoka. He really did just mean that he didn’t like relay, he liked to swim alone because nobody else relied on him. If he messed up, it was only his chances that were ruined not those of his closest friends as well. That was part of the reason why he enjoyed having dance as his own little secret- everything was on him, he couldn’t let anyone down. What Sousuke didn’t realise was that he could never let Rin down- the smaller boy looked up to him far too much for that to ever happen. Theirs was a friendship built on mutual admiration and the will to do better for the other person- even if that person was annoying as all hell sometimes.

“Gou wants to take up dancing.”

Sousuke looked at Rin, curious to see his response- his heart sank slightly when he saw the smaller boy’s face crumple with what Sousuke interpreted as disgust. 

“I don’t get it,” he continued, “I mean,why would someone take up dancing when they could take up swimming?” 

Rin’s face relaxed into its naturally smiling state as he laughed.

“Maybe she’s just intimidated by us! Haha, that must be it” He sighed. “It must be kind of disheartening to be around not one but two butterfly prodigies, right, Sousuke?”

He punched Sousuke on the shoulder and Sousuke relaxed slightly. It wasn’t dancing that had caused Rin’s disapproval, it was that someone was interested in something other than swimming- he would’ve reacted that way if Gou had wanted to take up baking. But even so, Sousuke resided himself to never tell Rin of his dancing. Best friends didn’t need to share everything after all, he concluded before following Rin’s bobbling head into a nearby classroom.

The day passed much the same as any other, and before he knew it, Sousuke was walking home with Rin. Falling into a natural rhythm the pair jogged down side streets and up banks just to roll back down them. Atop the third bank they’d scaled, Rin turned to Sousuke.

“We’ll make this one a race.” 

Sousuke grinned wickedly, “You’re on Matsuoka.” 

Rin gave an equally devilish smile and then said “First one to the bottom wins.” He pulled his scarf off before adding, “No cheating, Yamazaki.”  
“Hey, I should be saying the same to you!”  
Rin only laughed in response. The two of them lay down at the top of the verge and called out together:

“Three, two, one..GO!”

Sousuke was tumbling, faster and faster down the hill. It hadn’t looked this steep from the top but his world had been spinning for too long. The grass and the sky blurred so they were one and the same and Sousuke’s stomach twisted and churned with every rotation. He didn’t know when it would end but he hoped it would be soon

And suddenly, he was at the bottom, lying half on the grass and half on the tarmac of the path way. Though,he had stopped, Sousuke’s stomach continued to feel as though it was spinning and for a moment he wondered if he was going to throw up but then it hit him. He was at the bottom. He’d won. Letting out a surprisingly deep chuckle, Sousuke turned,looking for Rin, ready to rub his win in the red head’s face. But his boastful laughter died in his throat as he looked slightly up the hill.

Rin was cowering under the gaze of a group of older kids. They crowded around him and Sousuke could see their malicious intent and even from where he was stood, he could see the tears forming in Rin’s eyes. The momentary jubilation he’d had at winning was instantly washed away by a wave of intense hot rage. Fists clenched, Sousuke raced to help his best friend.

“HEY! What are you doing?”

The group of kids turned from Rin and glared at Sousuke. 

“Get away from him!” By this point, he had reached the commotion and had planted himself squarely between Rin and the bullies. The effect was astonishing: despite being at least 3 years younger than them, Sousuke easily stood a head above even the tallest of them. Even if he hadn’t had such a physical advantage, the older kids would have backed down. The look in Sousuke’s eyes was enough to melt stone and most of the bullies squirmed under it. 

“Haha, you’re getting your boyfriend to fight for you now?” The only one who hadn’t collapsed under Sousuke’s gaze was a scruffy haired boy, who was surprisingly daring considering his scrawny physique- he was even smaller than Rin. Cold calculating eyes bore into Sousuke’s furious teal ones before looking down at the still cowering Rin. He gave a disdainful snort before muttering, “I guess it figures… everyone knows, you’re soft ,Matsuoka, just like your dad..”

Sousuke’s hands were balled into fists so tight it was as though his fingers would pierce the palms of his hands like knives.

“Do I have to say it again?” Sousuke’s voice was low and menacing. “Get away from him, before I remove you myself.”

There was a flicker of fear in the eyes of the leader, though the bravado and arrogance soon returned.

“Alright, alright, we’re going.” He smirked before walking away, followed by his useless henchmen. He paused and turned back slightly. “Congratulations Matsuoka, you’ve got yourself a guard dog as well as a boyfriend.” The gaggle cackled cruelly, stupidly as they ambled away.

Once they were finally out of sight, Sousuke’s breathing began to return to normal. The strength it had taken to stop himself had sent the blood rushing to his head which was now pummelling against his skull so it was almost all he could hear. Almost all. A quiet sob from behind him reminded him why he was in such a state in the first place.

Rin’s eyes were red from the tears which still swam steadily down his cheeks. His teeth were gritted in an attempt to stop himself crying out. Red hair fell in curtains over the sorry scene though they didn’t stop the lump in Sousuke’s throat from forming. He crouched down to where his friend sat, withdrawn into himself completely.

“Rin..” 

The larger hands on his shoulders accompanied with the wonderfully familiar voice, was what brought Rin back to earth. He gave a huge sniff and wiped his nose with the back of his hand and then rubbed the tears from his face before looking up at his friend. Rin gave Sousuke a watery smile, but Sousuke couldn’t bring himself to smile back, not when he saw the scratches across Rin’s knuckles or his scuffed knees or the pain in his eyes.

“What did they do to you?” Sousuke’s voice was quiet, and he spoke quickly in attempt to hide the angry shaking in it. Rin rubbed the back of his neck and plastered on a stronger smile and attempted to chuckle. 

“Sousuke, they, they didn’t do anything. I crashed into them and they told me to watch where I was going or ..” His voice faltered. “It was my fault...really it was..” He trailed off. Sousuke stared at him.

“Why did that guy say that stuff about your dad?”

Rin was on his feet now, standing with his back to Sousuke.

“Oh, that’s Hotaka. He lived down the street, he used to bully all the younger kids. He picked on Gou and when I stuck up for her, he decided to have a problem with me instead.” He whipped around to face Sousuke, his smile seemed genuine now and his eyes were now only faintly pink. “I guess some people never grow up.” He chuckled slightly and made to continue on home but Sousuke grabbed him by the back of his school shirt.

“Rin!” Sousuke’s gaze was hard and his face was serious. “You have to stand up to them. I can’t let them do this to you, I..I..I won’t. What’s his name- Hotaka?”

Rin watched his friend work himself up, and chuckled, properly this time. 

“Sousuke, you need to lighten up! Stop worrying about me all the time! You really think I’m going to care about Hotaka when I’m Japan’s most successful Olympic swimmer?”

Sousuke blinked at Rin, confused. Rin hit him in the shoulder and laughed again. 

“It’s water under the bridge. Speaking of water, I’ll race you to practice! Ok, go!”

And he was off, dashing down the pathway and Sousuke was bemused that the boy could switch moods so easily. The drama of mere minutes ago seemed all but forgotten. But Sousuke quickly snapped out of his confused state, realising he couldn’t let Rin win out of pity, he darted after him, praying that his longer legs would act as a considerable advantage.

“You think you’re going to win cos you’ve got a head start? You’re in for a shock, Matsuoka!”

The pair’s laughter bounced off the walls of the streets and the anguish of the past moments was swept up in gusts of wind and trills of boyish laughter.

______________________________________________

And that’s how life was for Sousuke. He’d wake up and go to school every weekday and go to swim practice every other day and Rin would be by his side for all of it. Almost all of it.

Every Saturday, Sousuke attended a dance class. After showing his parents the medal he had won, they’d agreed to pay for him to be properly tutored because as his dad had said “You could be onto something special here, kid.” 

The Saturday mornings that Sousuke spent in the dance studio were some of the best mornings of his life. He got on extremely well with his tutor and was progressing quickly and looked set to be on the path to triumph at the next season of competition. But even so there would be weeks that Sousuke would feel at a loss. In his happiest moments he felt disappointment and it was only when he saw Rin the next day that he realised that the knot in his stomach was because his best friend hadn’t been there to share his happiness. Each time that happened though, Sousuke would reassure himself with the same line:

“Best friends don’t need to share everything.”

_________________________________________________

“Boys! Don’t go too far! Your food will be ready in about twenty minutes.”

Rin rolled his eyes at Sousuke and grinned before turning back towards the house and reassuring his mother that they wouldn’t go too far. 

“Come on!” Rin grabbed Sousuke by the wrist and pulled him after him. “There’s something I want to show you.” 

Trainers pummeled the pavements as Rin dragged Sousuke down roads and sideways until finally they reached an open green space. Rin had his hands on his knees and was panting but looked up at Sousuke grinning doggedly. Sousuke smiled back but was confused. Why had Rin brought him here?

Almost in answer to his unasked question, Rin straightened up and pointed to a tree.  
“Pretty cool, huh?”

Sousuke followed Rin over to the tree. It wasn’t so much a tree, as it was a sapling. It stood no higher than Sousuke and it quivered in the early evening breeze. But on its top most branches tiny pink cherry blossoms were beginning to open. Sousuke stood slack jawed in wonder. This tiny little sapling could produce some of the most beautiful flowers he had ever seen. He glanced over at Rin. The smaller boy was beaming at the little tree and Sousuke felt a wave of gratitude toward the redhead for bringing him here.

“I planted this myself.” Rin didn’t move his eyes from the tree. “I’ve been wanting to show you for ages.”

Sousuke gave a small smile, “I’m glad you did, Rin.”

“Of course, she’s not in full bloom.” Rin continued. “I wanted to show you her when she was in full bloom but seeing as I’m probably not going to be here when that happens, I thought I’d show you now.”

Sousuke’s smile fell. 

“What do you mean you’re not going to be here?”

Rin didn’t answer for a long time or avert his gaze from the little cherry tree. When he finally looked up, Sousuke gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in preparation for the worst.

“I’m going to Australia.” Rin said in a small voice. “I wanted to show you the tree, I’m sorry it’s not in full-”

“I don’t care about the tree, Rin!”

Sousuke’s body was coursing with adrenaline and he felt sick to his stomach. His skin was hot and prickled with fear. Tears sprang into his eyes. Rin looked wounded by his comment but Sousuke pushed on regardless. “I care about you planning to leave without so much as saying a word! I thought we were best friends! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

Sousuke hated the way his voice was cracking and he hated that sad look in Rin’s eyes but what he hated most was the fact that he knew his best friend was going to leave and that there was nothing he could do about it.

Rin didn’t do anything but look at Sousuke for a little while and it was only when tears began to roll down the taller boy’s cheeks that he finally spoke up.

“Best friends don’t need to share everything, Sousuke.”

Sousuke felt as though he’d been punched in the gut. He wanted to throw up, he wanted to scream, he wanted Rin to stay. But Rin was already making to walk away. He put a hand on Sousuke’s shoulder and said gently, “We should be getting back, my mum’ll wonder where we are...” before walking away from the tree.

But Sousuke couldn’t follow him: he couldn’t do anything except stand rooted to the spot and watch as his life walked slowly away from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the Dance AU begins!!  
> I've had this planned for a while but seeing the new pictures of the future fish babies prompted me to post it (Sousuke and the alien arrghh!!!)
> 
> This is my first time writing Sousuke and Rin so I hope I've managed to stick to the characters
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it and want to stick around for more bby sourin and more dance related drama x)
> 
> (just fyi the sourin mmds are the best things)


End file.
